June Highlight Reel Part 1

Pondering the deep questions of life on the boardwalk. "What's for dinner?"

Fresh seafood spread in the night market. We wish you could smell it.

Too many mangoes to pick from in the Mango Market.

Boarding the boat to go to the islands!

"My name is Courtney and I like long hikes on the islands"

Mosque on the edge of town.

Stephen getting ready to eat his first fresh, raw clam.

Stephen not enjoying his first fresh, raw clam.

Courtney's nervous selfie with the monitor lizard!

Post island hopping group picture!

The island mosque a.k.a water mosque.

Prayer rugs prepared inside the mosque.

Charlsie learning how to make Teh Tarik! Our favorite local tea drink.

Stephen making Teh Tarik, literally means "pulled tea"... like a pro!
Profile pic material right? What a man, what a beard.

The girls with our patient pulling tea teachers!

Be looking out for June Highlight Reel Part 2!
Bye Mr. Monitor Lizard!

Experiencing True Freedom... now with pictures!

It has been an exciting and eventful couple of weeks for the Refugee School team in South Korea! God has truly answered our prayers from the first couple of weeks. Many obstacles arose in the beginning, but each one seems to have been worked out. The MERS scare has decreased, and we have been able to hang out with the students many times.

We have had so many great conversations with the students. We are excited to partner up with our brothers and sisters in encouragement and to learn about the Bible together. We also play badminton with the students on Tuesdays, spend the night on the weekends, and sing and dance a lot.

This past weekend we were able to speak to one of the newest students at our school. He came from the North just six months ago. While at a coffee shop preparing to sing a song at a baby's first birthday party, J  shared with us how he first learned about Christ when he arrived in South Korea. He chose the name J from his favorite Bible character. He admired how this character went from being sold into slavery to a well trusted advisor to the Pharaoh. Korean J will soon be baptized and he has invited us to come! We are so excited to be able to witness this picture of his life of sin washed away, and his new found freedom established in Christ!

In the past few weeks we've been here, we have heard many stories from the students about their escape. This has opened our eyes to the atrocities occurring around the world today. Please join us in prayer for their family and friends still in this oppression both physically and spiritually.

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
2 Corinthians 3:17

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
John 8:36

-Aryn, Becca, Bex, Heather

New Places, Tight Spaces: Mtn. Trek Team

I must say that when I went to visit the Mountain Trek Team I did not expect one of the biggest groups to have one of the tiniest living spaces I have seen out here yet. The entire team takes it all in such good humor. They tell me it’s only made them grow closer as a team and I have no doubts about that!

What makes us all laugh even harder is how, not only do they share this small space between all 6 of them, but also a hoard of different animals throughout the day, me and Ate Gigi while we were there, and what I think is funniest of all, a little young man that solely comes in at night to sleep in the closet of all places and mysteriously manages to crawl over everyone and disappear in the mornings before anyone even gets up. (And we get up at 5:30 AM everyday!)

 
I think that might just be one of the most admirable qualities I’ve marked about this team; their ability to face ANYTHING with a smile and a sense of good humor.

Sarah reading in her mosquito net

Experiencing James 1:2-4

I don't think we, as a team, expected our summer in Bangkok to be so difficult. Difficult to explain, difficult to process the things we see, difficult to sort through our many emotions. But it has been. 

I would like to talk about all the great things about this city, but that isn't really what we're experiencing in our time here. One of the overarching challenges seems to be trying to hear God's voice in a place where He seems absent.

Between the 5 of us we teach English, work in a cafe, teach guitar, help with exercise classes, work on marketing ideas, and spend time in a salon doing hair, make-up, and nails for women and ladyboys each week. We do these things hoping to love these Thai people the way Jesus does. We haven't gotten to share the Gospel with anyone. We haven't seen anyone walk away from their life of sin and turn to the Lord. But God is opening our eyes to see the beauty in the small things.

We came, not to start something new, but to continue the work that has already been started. We are spending time with people and with each other. We are being loved by Christ, so we can pour that love out to anyone and everyone we encounter.

It's easy to look at the city we walk through every day and see the overwhelming darkness of sin. It's hard to find the light that is Christ. It's even harder to realize that He has chosen us to be that light. In the 4 weeks we've been here, God has humbled, broken, overjoyed, and reshaped us. We're finding that it's only the beginning of the way God desires to move in us and through us to impact this city.

Please pray:

- for us to encounter persons of peace

- the chance to share the Gospel

- a revival in the city of Bangkok so Thai people can reach Thai people

- ears to hear God's voice and eyes to see the work He is doing

Village Outreach pics

Pray

• for good health for the team members 
• for persons of peace who are open to hearing & accepting the Good News

Mabuti ang Dios! (God is Good!)

Today we left our first site and we will not return to Apuao. It was one of the hardest things to do. To walk away (or float away on a boat in my case), knowing that there is still work to be done. While on the boat, I found comfort in knowing that God is greater than us. He will stay and work on the island. He isn't leaving and He is still working. His task will be complete, we were just there for a little while. Later this week my team and I will head to a new village. 

The past two weeks have been so amazing... to see how God is working in the village. In our morning Bible study we were in a community area where many different families came to hear the stories we taught each day from the Bible. They have started to open up to us, as time goes on. They have shared their struggles and praise to the Lord. 

In August they may not be able to go and fish (their only source of income) because the waves may be too big. If this happens they won't eat, they could starve. Even though this is the reality of their lives, they are the most compassionate, loving, and generous people I have ever met. They have the most genuine community, making sure that everyone has eaten. Even when they don't have much they share! Everyone gets a portion, no matter how small. 

We were sad to leave them, but again their generosity amazed me. They made us lunch, a soup of coconut milk, banana, and root crops... so masarap (delicious)! 

Many of the people in this community have accepted Christ, and we have seen true heart change. Every Bible study we would ask them if they have any prayer requests. One morning a man spoke up and said "I want to pray for the people around the world who have not heard the Good News that you have shared with us, and for people to go to them as people have come to us." The Lord is working in this village, wow. They are so eager to learn more about Jesus. 

-Cloe

Please pray for our team as we deal with all the emotions of leaving the island, and for the Lord to continue to move in the village.
Pray that my team and I will get so much needed rest over the next few days!

Beautiful Hearts, Beautiful Places: Team Oras

They say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder but I believe that there are some things that absolutely no one can deny the beauty of, no matter the beholder.

Two of those things are the beauty of God’s wondrous creation, Plant Earth, and the other is the beauty of the human soul. Now don’t get me wrong, I know that there is a great deal of ugliness that invades people’s hearts and minds but what I’m talking about is the radiant light that comes from a soul renewed and reborn in the Holy Spirit. The beauty that can pour forth from a sinful human being after Christ comes to dwell within their soul. There’s a genuineness and fragility that is apparent. It’s the constant struggle to keep faith, grow faith, and overcome the hardships of life while still fighting and struggling to stay strong, kind, and loving in the face of mistakes and tragedies that I find crushingly beautiful.

People have touched me deeply in just the few days I spent with the Oras team. We were able to meet with a church of believers up river and speak to others in that village and another that were struggling and needed encouragement. It was amazing to see the similarities in their daily struggle with faith as I’ve seen from the people back home in the states. It shows that no matter where you are or how far away from home and familiar culture you are, people are still people. They need fellowship with others and encouragement and help just as much as anyone else.

I remember when I truly started my walk with God and it was not at all an easy road to travel. I constantly stumbled and needed someone there to help pick me up and show me the way. That person was always Jesus, but I know that He used other people to help get through to me at times. These people need the same and I truly hope that Jesus was able to use us to pick someone up off the road and set them on the right path once more.

Now as for God’s creation, I am a huge advocate when it comes to the beauty of nature. You can find a beautiful piece of nature in your back yard or in the Himalayas. God’s creation is everywhere and noting even the smallest pieces of beauty has become something of a hobby for me. This past week I have been in no shortage of beautiful places in nature to behold. One such example was a journey we took to get to a waterfall this past Thursday.

Now when Jethro, the son of the pastor of the church where we stayed and enthusiastic disciple, said that there was a big waterfall not too far away we were all very gung-ho about going to see it (even though we all secretly thought that when he said “big” it’d be maybe 10 feet tall at the most).

If you look close you'll find Jethro and get an idea
 of just how big the waterfall really is

We were very, very wrong and I’m so glad we were.

This waterfall was huge! No not huge, gigantic!

I’m just guessing but I believe it was about 200ft.

And getting there was a challenge, let me tell you!

We slipped and slid and were covered in mud and vines and bugs by the time we got there, but hearing that rushing water, turning around that bend to see what was hidden in a secret cove in the middle of the jungle made it all more than worth it.

I'm of the opinion that God uses nature to remind us all of His great power and majesty. What we see here on Earth is but a pale representation of what is in store for us to see in Heaven. Just by looking at what He's created I'm filled with awe and such a great gratitude.

He blessed us that day with allowing us to see and experience such a hidden wonder and it was incredibly refreshing to the soul.

Next time you go out I challenge you to seek the beauty of the world in every place you go (even the backyard) and in every person that crosses your path

-Kiera for Team Oras

Jethro, Dea, & Gigi

Our Little Guide

Spiritiual truths taught

Sa wat dee kha from the team in Bangkok, Thailand!

We have been here for 3 weeks now and our time has been nothing short of struggles, encouragement, hot weather, and, of course, lots of Thai food. It has been so fulfilling to see God open our eyes more to His sovereignty and the way He is choosing to make us vessels for His righteousness.

Since we’ve gotten here, there have been many ways the enemy has threatened to rob us of our joy. One of these is the similarity we’ve found between Thai culture and our own in the U.S. It’s easy to be broken over injustice you hear about, but it’s harder when you realize it’s sin and it isn’t specific to certain cultures. It attacks and breaks and destroys people in every nation.

“As I looked down from the high floor of this fancy hotel, I saw a Buddhist temple to the left and some run down shacks that constituted as people’s home’s to the right. I saw before me almost every form of idolatry possible and I asked God why. How could he stand to look down and see all of this? So I asked to see it the way He does and I became incredibly sad. Imagine our Dad looking down and seeing his kids following a religion that ultimately tells them their goal is nothingness, void of emotion and personality, which totally goes against how we’re created. Imagine how sad God must be to watch his kids chase after all the shiny things in the world only to see the glimmer leave once the lights go out. Then, imagine his feelings towards his kids living in squalor and poverty. Lastly, as his kids prostitute themselves and His other children buy their bodies. Is not His depth of despair just as deep in each case? I look around and see people who are blind both to their own, our own, level of depravity and to the level of joy and life that is offered in the Gospel.”

In these hard times, God has been speaking so much spiritual truth to us and allowing us the blessing to grow in our Heavenly Father.

Pray for us to have opportunities to be a friend to the workers we meet in the bars. 
Pray for God to move in a mighty way.  
Pray for Jesus to shine in us and through us so that they may know the true, eternal hope and the reason for living. 
Pray that their eyes would be open to the living and constant source of water.

-Natalie

I Am Not Alone

Many have heard the song "I Am Not Alone," by Kari Jobe. We sing this song to a graceful tune but yet do we really listen to the lyrics of this song? Our team has lived by this song and has become the anthem of our journey here in SE Asia. The Father has never forsaken us and continues to make His presence known through the experiences we've lived, the people we've met, and the feeling of His comforting arms during times of despair. The Father has provided so many blessed opportunities in which our team would love to share with those all over the world. As we live beside the 5+ million people in our city for the next two months, over 90% of them Muslim, our goal will be to sow as many seeds of the gospel as we can, with whoever we meet. 

-K & E

What role are you going to play?

Why do we put so much emphasis on our calling to go? We ALL are called to go and to finish the great commission. Everyone of us has a part to play in the great commission. it is not whether or not you are called to go... it is whether or not you have a special calling to stay! If that is you, then you need to be praying and giving and supporting earnestly while staying. But if you are not called to stay then why aren't you going? Why aren't you playing your part in finishing the great commission and going to the nations? Isaiah 42:6 tells us to be a light to all the nations. Acts 20:24 says our life is worth nothing unless we finish the race and complete the task of testifying to the gospel of gods grace. Romans 10:14 says how can they hear without someone preaching to them?
 
So what is hindering you from reaching out and going? What is stopping you from being obedient to God's calling for you to GO? What is so important that you can not obey the Lord and go? 

We are so focused on materialistic things that we ignore and put off Gods calling for us to go to the nations because we are scared to make the sacrifices that are ahead of us when we do take the step to go out to the nations, living a simpler life, being away from relatives and friends. But in the end it all is for HIS GLORY! So that people of every tribe, every tongue, and every nation can worship and fellowship together in his kingdom for eternity. 

So... here is my question to you: What are you doing to play a part in finishing the great commission?
There are enough people alive today to finish the great commission. What role are you going to play?

I challenge you to pray earnestly about Gods plan for you and be willing to go wherever the Lord wants you and do whatever he wants you to do. Be obedient to what he invites you to do.

-Hailey